


The City Of Dreams

by Narrybabes



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 16:29:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1020878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narrybabes/pseuds/Narrybabes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall's just moved to a new city in a new country for work. Even though he's in one of the most accepting cities, New York City, he still hates the fact that he's gay. Will he be able to accept himself and possibly find love in this great big city?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

This apartment. This city. This job. These people.

  
Niall couldn’t tell you his favorite thing about his new life, he loved every aspect of it. The young Irishman had just taken what was likely to be the biggest risk of his life. He was offered a job on the other side of the world, in a country where he knew no one and in a city he’d never been to. But boy did it pay off.

New York. New York City. The Big Apple.

The US of A. Niall had always wanted to live in the US. He owned many things with the flag on it, including a few articles of clothing. He never thought he’d get the chance to live in that almost untangle country until, in February, he was offered this job that had much much much better pay than anything he could get in the small town of Mullingar. It was now June and he worked for the bank Merrill Lynch, and so far he liked it. They even paid for the first 9 months rent on his new apartment, and let me tell you that apartment was phenomenal. It was right on the Hudson River and just a few blocks from his office building. Not only that but the 3 bedroom apartment was fully furnished with high end furniture. Niall had no idea how he was this lucky, and he couldn’t think of anyway his life could be more perfect. He often just walked around, exploring the new city. Everywhere he looked there was a new character. People dressed up elaborately, expressing themselves and embraced the others around them.

Niall was working in a giant skyscraper on one of the floors that was pretty high up. He was giddy the first time he pressed the button with a big 82 on it. What amazed Niall was that this building had 110 floors. Niall had never seen a building this size in person before in his entire life and here he was working in one in a city filled with skyscrapers. The only thing that scared Niall about the tower was one time, when he went to drop off a report to his new boss on the 101st floor on a windy day, he could feel the building sway side to side and he could hear the metal creak. He was thankful that he couldn’t hear or feel that on his floor, he would be scared shitless with every squeak and movement.

  
On Niall's first day in the building, a young co-worker, Julie, came over to welcome him, finding him remarkably attractive. She went to Niall’s cubical after looking over every few minutes to see if he was busy and to gauge if he seemed nice. After she had determined that he seemed nice, she slowly made her way to the area, almost psyching herself out. Once she was next to Niall’s chair, she cleared her throat to grab the blonde’s attention. Niall spun around in his comfy office chair to greet his visitor. A smile blossomed on his face when he saw that it was a co-worker coming to greet him. The first thing Niall noticed was Julie’s caramel brown hair pulled back into a bouncy ponytail (he would soon find out that her hairstyle never differed, ever). She was about average height, although her kitten heels may have helped her a bit with that. She had deep brown eyes and a shy smile. She was wearing a black pencil skirt with a light salmon pink button up blouse tucked in.

  
“Hello!” Niall boomed loudly before realizing that people were working and he should quiet down.

  
“Hi, I saw that you’re new and I just wanted to be the first to say hi. So yeah, hi,” Julie blushed a bit, feeling embarrassed at how awkward she was being. Niall chuckled and stuck out his hand for her to shake.

  
“Niall Horan,” he said as he did so. Her petite manicured hand reached out to shake his.

  
“Julie Papich.”

  
“Well it’s nice t’ meet ya, Julie.”

  
“Where are you from? I really like your accent. Oh, was that weird? Sorry if that was weird…” Julie blushed feverishly, making a fool of herself in front of her new, and not to mention stunning, co-worker. Niall tried not to laugh, knowing that would make her feel worse.

  
“I’m from Mullingar, Ireland. I was offered this job so I packed my bags and came to the States. Just got here a week ago,” Niall explained. Julie’s eyes widened the smallest amount and she nodded, showing her fascination with him and what he was saying. “Okay, well I should get back to work. Don’t wanna slack on me first day. Wouldn’t want Mr. Betcher to hate me already.”

  
“Oh don’t worry, Mr. Betcher is a great boss. Also he’s quite a few floors up so he rarely comes down to check on us. But I’ll let you get back to it. Nice meeting you.” Julie half turned away and gave Niall a small wave which he graciously returned. Once she was out of earshot, another voice caught Niall’s attention.

  
“She fancies you, mate.” Niall looked up, surprised by the unfamiliar accent. He looked over to see that the man at the desk to his right was turned to face him, lounging back lazily in his chair, spinning a pen around his long fingers.

  
“Harry. Harry Styles,” the Englishman offered his hand for Niall to shake.

  
“Niall. And do you really think so? About Julie? I’ve only just met her. She couldn’t possibly develop feelings that fast,” Niall reasoned.

  
“I never said feeling. Maybe just a little school girl crush. She thinks you’re a cutie, eh? Julie is very outgoing, very confident. For her to act like that she must be embarrassed around you,” Harry said nonchalantly. Niall just gave a small ‘hmm’, acknowledging the statement. He wasn’t totally listening to Harry, he was taking in what this boy looked like. His hair was pushed back and gelled ever so slightly in an attempt to keep the wild locks somewhat professional. The chocolate brown locks still curled at the tips, defying the gel. He had slightly tanned skin and when he spoke, his lips were turned up into the smallest smile, causing a dimple to form. The brunette had on a light blue button up shirt and a black tie was around his neck, but it was a bit loose at the knot, giving Harry extra room. His shirt was tucked into a pair of nice black slacks and he had a pair of expensive looking dress shoes on. “So what do you think of her?” Harry asked, bring Niall back to the conversation at hand.

  
“Who? Julie? She’s nice.”

  
“No, like do you think she’s attractive?”

  
“Oh, she’s not really my type…” Niall trailed off, not liking where this was going.

  
“What is your type, then?” Harry asked the one question Niall didn’t want brought up. He didn’t want the entire office to know he was gay the first day here. He didn’t want potentially start an issue right off the bat.

  
“Uh taller, shorter hair.” Niall tried to be as vague as possible while still telling the truth, he hated lying. Harry just nodded, accepting this simple answer.  
“Sorry I didn’t say hi earlier. I was working on finalizing a report and I just sent it in a few minutes ago. It was supposed to be on Mr. Betcher’s desk yesterday by 5, so I couldn’t waste any time this morning,” Harry explained himself.

  
“Oh it’s fine! Well I really should get to work. Like I said don’t want to get fired on my first day,” Niall joked before returning to work. Harry nodded then did the same. Neither one of them knew it, but this was the start of a friendship that would last for the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first time writing a multi-chapter mxm fanfic, I hope you guys like it! Let me know if you want anything to happen and I may try to work it into the plot.  
> This will probably have around 10-15 chapters, maybe. Not that long.  
> Please let me know what you think xx


	2. Chapter 2

Even though the days were long and the work was strenuous, Niall still loved his job. He’d been working there for about a month and he was finally getting into the groove of things. His daily schedule almost never faltered and was practically clockwork.

  
8:00 AM - Leave for work  
8:10 AM - Get to work, grab some coffee  
8:15 AM - Start working on portfolios for clients  
10:00 AM - Morning meeting  
10:30 AM - Resume work on portfolios  
11:30-1:30 PM - Lunch with Harry  
1:40 PM - Get back to work on portfolios  
2:00 PM - Chat with Julie  
2:30 PM - Call clients and discuss their finances  
3:30 PM - Afternoon meeting  
4:30 PM - Review work and plan for tomorrow  
5:30 PM - Go home

  
Same thing, different day. It would have made certain people go mad, but Niall liked the expected. He felt like when he knew what was going to happen, he could plan and make the best out of it. Anyway, Harry always distracted him from his work at the exact right moment. Niall liked that about Harry. He seemed to know when Niall was about to scream from the endless stream of work, and he spoke up then. Yet Harry never spoke so much that it became annoying, as some people did. He understood when Niall needed to work and the two would work side by side in silence until it was time to take a break and chat.

  
Niall was so grateful that he had somebody he could consider a friend. His main concern with moving so far from home was that he would have no one to talk to. Calling his friends and family back home would be too difficult to do very often because of the time differences, so having both Harry and Julie as friends was a blessing. Harry was just a few months younger than Niall, both of them were 25, and Julie was 23, hired right after college. They were the three youngest in the office, so that made it easy for them to bond.

  
One lazy Friday afternoon, the last Friday of May, Julie came up to Niall right before they got off work. They had already had their daily talk, so Niall wondered what it was about. Her hair was in the same bouncy ponytail as always and she had put on a little more makeup than usual.

  
“Hey Niall. A bunch of us are going out to this bar, Jack’s, tonight and I was wondering if you’d like to come,” Julie asked.

  
“Oh that sounds great. But where is it because I don’t have a car so it would have to be within walking distance cause I don’t really want to get a cab.”

  
“Oh, it’s not really. I’d offer you a ride but my car’s in the shop and I’m going with Abigail,” Julie’s voice had a twinge of sorrow behind it at the thought of Niall not coming.

  
“I could drive you, I wasn’t planning on drinking so I could drive you home, as well,” Harry spoke up.

  
“Oh yeah thanks, mate,” Niall said and Julie gave a small smile then went back to her desk to finish up the day’s work. Niall and Harry had both already finished everything they had to do for the day so they just snacked in the break room on food purchased from the vending machine.

  
“I think you should go for Julie,” Harry said with a mouth half full of pretzels, breaking the calm silence.

  
“Like I said, not my type,” Niall replied, internally groaning that this topic was coming back up.

  
“I’m not saying date her, maybe just hook up a little. Maybe she wouldn’t be so clingy after. I have nothing against her, but she comes over every. Single. Day. Like, right on time.”

  
“Uh, maybe. We’ll see,” Niall ended the conversation with that, knowing full well that he would never get with Julie. “So why aren’t you gonna drink tonight? Do you not drink?”

  
“Hmm? Oh, no, I do occasionally. I don’t drink too often, and when I do it’s just with some friends. I don’t really see what could be fun about getting drunk with middle aged bankers at some mediocre bar,” Harry explained.

  
“Well Julie and I will be there? Aren’t we friends?” Niall questioned, half joking. He considered Harry a friend but he didn’t know if Niall was considered the same in Harry’s book.

  
“You are, Julie maybe. She’s more of an acquaintance. Also, don’t you want someone sober driving you home? Why are you complaining?”

  
“I’m not really complaining, just wondering. But anyway, thanks again for driving me there and back. I appreciate it. I think it’ll be fun.”

  
“It’s no problem,” Harry shrugged, “I enjoy spending time with you anyway. Where do you live by the way?”

  
“Oh, just a few blocks from the office, I’m next to the Hudson.”

  
“Sweet, I live near here too. That’s convenient.”

 

The bar, Jack’s, was your run of the mill bar. Dimly lit, fairly packed and had the slight smell of stale beer. Nonetheless, Niall was having a great time. He never felt close or even acknowledged by his older co-workers, but here they all were drinking beers together and laughing at unfunny jokes.

  
Niall was on his fourth beer and he could feel the effects of the alcohol. He was definitely not drunk, but maybe a little more than tipsy. He scanned the room to see who from work had showed up and almost everyone had. His eyes stopped on Harry who was just sitting on his own in the corner. Niall made his way to the lonely boy, only stumbling once. He arrived at the high top table and Harry looked up at him and chuckled. The blonde’s tie was hanging around his neck loosely from being tugged at throughout the day and his top button was undone, showing his pale Irish skin.

  
“Why’re you all alone?” The slightly slurred Irish accent asked.

  
“Dunno, I’ve never felt very liked by these people. I only came because you needed a ride. I wasn’t planning on being here.” Niall instantly felt guilty. He pulled out the bar stool and managed to get himself up onto it. He took a swig from the bottle in his hand before looking intently at Harry.

  
“You didn’t have to drive me, y’know. Also why don’t you think they like you? They seem nice to me,” Niall said.

  
“It’s not worth getting into, it’s not a big deal. And it’s fine, I’m happy to drive you. You really wanted to come and you’re having a good time and that’s what matters.”

  
“Noooooo,” Niall exaggerated the word, “I feel bad. Let’s go.”

  
“No, Niall, go have fun with them. Don’t feel bad, I promise I’m fine. And look, here comes Julie. She’d be mad if I took you before she got a chance to make a move on you, yeah?” Harry lifted his hand to motion to the petite girl who was obviously plastered even though she had drank almost exactly as much as Niall. Niall gave her a sloppy but sweet smile and a loud laugh bubbled from her lips.

  
“Hey, Niall-y,” she placed her hand on his bicep and squeezed when she reached the boys and Harry pressed his lips together into a thin line, maybe to suppress a laugh, but Niall wasn’t sure. “Niall, you’re so taaallll,” Julie cooed as she stroked her finger down his chest. He just gave a half-hearted smile. He felt a little bad for her because she was wasting her time, but it wasn’t like he was going to just tell her that he was attracted to boys. Even though he was out in Ireland, he wasn’t flamboyant and he didn’t want to possibly ostracize himself in a new city. “So Niall, there’s a little, uh, a little chair area thingy, um, over there. Come with me,” she commanded.

  
“Alright, love,” he said, making her blush feverishly. “Harry, you wanna come over with us?” Julie frowned when Niall invited Harry over, but she stayed quiet. Harry agreed to come over and they all sat down in the lounge area, Niall and Julie sitting on the couch and Harry sat on a single person chair, even though there was plenty of room left on the couch because Julie was practically in Niall’s lap. Julie was blabbering about how much fun she was having, but Niall wasn’t paying any attention to her.

  
He couldn’t help but notice how cute Harry was, not just cute, he was hot. Harry had removed his tie after work and left it in his car, and he had unbuttoned the top few buttons and untucked his shirt from the dress pants, revealing this toned, tan chest and a small bit of ink peeked out the top. Through the white dress shirt and in this lighting, Niall could faintly see the dark tattoos contrast his skin. Niall didn’t realize that Harry had tattoos, but he liked it. Harry’s professional businessman persona was shattered and Niall pictured what other tattoos Harry might have.

  
Harry’s focus was off somewhere else, his gaze set on some co-workers on the opposite end of the bar. He bit his bottom lip, tugging on it with his teeth. His lip snapped back into place and it was a deep pink from the blood rushing to it. Harry’s hair gel had worn out from the countless amounts of times that he ran his fingers through it tonight and his curls were falling over his forehead.

  
“Niall. Niiiiiiaaaaall? Why won’t you listen to me? Niall-y?” Julie whined, noticing that Niall wasn’t responding to what she said. She leaned in closer to Niall and her alcohol tinged breath washed over Niall’s face, warming his cheeks.

  
“Oh, sorry, I, uh, I got distracted,” Niall said before taking a swig of beer.

  
“That’s okay, I forgive you, sweetie,” Julie slurred as she climbed into Niall’s lap fully, straddling his hips. She draped her arms around Niall’s neck, lacing her fingers together behind it.

  
“Hello,” Niall said, feeling incredibly awkward. This situation was sobering him up, his thoughts crystal clear. Niall pressed against her chest, trying to get her off. But what ended up happening is he felt her up, and she took it as a sign to continue. She leaned in and forcefully pressed her lips against Niall’s. His eyes widened and his lips stiffened, but in her extremely drunken state, Julie didn’t notice. After almost a minute of kissing Niall with no response, Julie finally let up. She pulled back and gave a big smile, not realizing that Niall hadn’t wanted the kiss. She climbed off his lap and cuddled into his arm, nuzzling against his neck. Niall stiffened against the contact, then he realized that Harry was sitting a mere 6 feet away.

  
Niall looked over and the curly haired boy was still looking away, but had a slight redness to his cheeks, hinting that he had in fact witnessed the kiss. Niall chugged the rest of his beer in an attempt to rid himself of the embarrassment that he felt.

  
After about twenty minutes of Julie cuddling up to Niall, Niall caught Harry’s attention and mouthed the words ‘help me’. Harry laughed under his breath before saying anything.

  
“Well, Julie, sorry to take Niall from ya, but I’m gonna head home and I’m his ride,” Harry told her. Julie let out a small whine, but unlatched Niall’s arm.  
“See you Monday, Niall,” she said. He just nodded then got off of the couch and followed Harry out of the bar. He tripped over his own feet when they were walking the few blocks to Harry’s car, so Harry wrapped his arm around Niall’s waist and Niall put his arm around Harry’s shoulder. They got back to Harry’s white Prius and Harry helped Niall in before jogging over to the driver’s side. He started the car and asked Niall for the exact address before starting the 10 minute drive to the apartment complex.

  
“Niall I know you said Julie isn’t your type, but I wouldn’t think that would be that big of a deal, especially when she’s making out with you in your lap. You looked so uncomfortable, being short and having longer hair isn’t a big deal,” Harry brought the dreaded topic back up.

  
“It was just unexpected I guess,” Niall softly said.

  
“Yeah, Julie really lets loose when she has alcohol I guess. How much did she drink?” Harry asked.

  
“I think about as much as me,” Niall responded.

  
“But you don’t seem anywhere near as wasted as her, I mean true you’re quite a bit taller and a guy, but still it was a big difference. You’re pretty tipsy, but I wouldn’t consider you drunk.”

  
“It’s me Irish blood,” Niall purposely accentuated his accent to prove his point, making Harry laugh. Niall’s stomach flipped at the sound of Harry’s laugh, even if he didn’t laugh for very long. It was a full, hearty laugh that filled the whole car.

  
Niall scolded himself mentally for thinking of Harry like that. Harry couldn’t be gay. If he was gay he wouldn’t be bringing up hooking up with Julie so often. Niall knew he couldn’t like Harry. He wouldn’t let himself. They worked together, not just on the sam floor but right next to each other. Niall didn’t want to date anybody from work. He had never had a real relationship. He had dated a girl once in high school, but that was when he was questioning himself. He didn’t want his first relationship to be complicated as it would be if he dated somebody from the office.

  
Niall didn’t notice that they were even close to his building, but Harry was parked on the side of the road to allow Niall to get out. Niall saw this and thanked Harry for the ride once more before getting out and heading in. He gave Harry a small wave from the door of the building, which the brunette happily returned. Niall sighed then went inside, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

Niall got into work Monday morning dreading the day for the first time since moving to the US. He really didn’t want to have to have the awkward interaction with Julie that was bound to happen. He wasn’t really sure how Julie would react but he knew he would have to tell her today that he wasn’t interested. He couldn’t put it off and let her get her hopes up or anything like that. He got to his desk with a cup of coffee in hand and Harry was already there, working on some paperwork for a big deal he was trying to finalize.

 

“Hey, Hazza,” Niall said, making the taller boy spin in his chair to look at Niall. Harry raised an eyebrow, giving Niall a quizzical look.

 

“Hazza?”

 

“Yeah I dunno where that came from, I just kinda said it. Sorry ‘bout that,” Niall said. Harry’s lips tugged into a smile when he thought about the little nickname he had just been given.

 

“No, I like it. I’ve never had a nickname, my name’s pretty short as is,” Harry said.

 

“Alright, Hazza it is,” Niall said as he sat down. The two began working and remained quiet for a while, trying to get as much done as possible. After almost two hours with very few words said, Niall finally had to get up. “I’m gonna go make some copies, I’ll be back.”

 

“I’ll probably see you in there, once I finish this section I have to copy it,” Harry explained. Niall went off the the copy room that was in the opposite corner of where most of the desks were. Nobody else was in the room so Niall got started right away on the copies. The machine was old and took several minutes to warm up and took even longer to actually print anything. Once the machine was up and running, Niall placed the 10 page report onto the tray and started the slow process of making 5 copies of the report.

 

After about a minute, Niall heard the door open, but not close, so he looked over his shoulder to see who had entered the room. Julie was walking over to Niall with a wide smile plastered on her face. Niall sighed, knowing that he would have to tell her now.

 

“Hey, Niall.”

 

“Hey, Julie.”

 

“So… that kiss,” she opened up the topic for discussion.

 

“You remember that, eh?” A small part of Niall had hoped that she was too hammered to recall the events of Friday night.

 

“How could I forget?” She took another step closer to Niall, closing the already small gap between them. Niall was stuck between the copy machine and her tiny body. “So, what do you think… about us?” She pried, playing with his tie as she spoke. ‘She’s fucking confident isn’t she?’ Niall thought.

 

“I, uh… I’m not interested, sorry Julie.” Niall awkwardly said.

 

“You seemed pretty interested Friday,” she retorted. She wasn’t about to let up.

 

“Julie, I’m… Julie, I’m gay,” Niall spat out, his heart pounding against his ribs as he said it. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back a step.

 

“W-what? Is this just some way to get to back off? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

 

“What do you want me to do? Send out a company wide email saying ‘hey guys, I’m a raging homosexual’?”

 

“Of course you fucking are, God dammit!” She shouted.

 

“Please just don’t tell anyone, I really don’t want this to get out. I don’t want to be treated differently for this.”

 

“Whatever, fine. You and Harry can just go-”

 

“Julie!” A loud voice interrupted her. Both Niall and Julie’s head snapped to the door to see who was there. Harry stood in the doorway, mouth agape. Niall felt himself pale, he knew from the look on Harry’s face that he had heard Niall’s not so little confession. Niall’s knees trembled and he felt lightheaded. He didn’t want there to be a possibility for his new friend to not like him. Back in Ireland he lost a lot of friends when he came out, and he didn’t want this to be a repeat of that. Niall didn’t even think about his actions, he just sprinted towards the restrooms.

 

He locked himself in the large handicap stall and sat on the ground, placing his head between his knees. He took in large breath and shakily let them out. He felt panic tighten around his chest and he thought he might throw up. He couldn’t get the look Harry had on his face out of his mind. It was not the look of acceptance.

 

Niall heard the door to the bathroom open then shut, so he tried to stay quiet.

 

“Niall? Are you in here?” An English accent asked. Niall didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to confront Harry right now, he couldn’t. “Niall, please talk to me. I can see that you’re sitting on the ground. Just say something.”

 

“Go away.”

 

“Niall, I’m not gonna do that. Talk to me, mate. What’s wrong?”

 

“Didn’t you hear what I told Julie?” Niall tentatively asked, even though he knew the answer.

 

“Yeah, I did.” Harry replied after a few moments of deafening silence.

 

“That’s what’s wrong. I lost so many friends when people in Ireland found out, it can’t be like that here. I can’t handle going through that again. And I saw your face when you heard Harry. You were disgusted,” Niall’s voice cracked at the end as tears pricked his eyes. While he had accepted that he was gay, he didn’t like it.

 

“I was not disgusted, Niall. I was just surprised,” Harry tried to reassure Niall.

 

“Stop trying to make me feel better. You don’t know what I’m going through,” Niall croaked, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

 

“Yeah I do,” Harry replied.

 

“Stop it, no you don’t,” Niall insisted.

 

“Niall, I’m gay, too.”

  


Niall's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't form a cohesive thought much less make a sentence that made sense.

 

Niall was sure he was going crazy. Harry had not just said that. His heart felt like it had skipped a beat, he was overjoyed, but still skeptical.

 

“Really?” Niall lifted his head and looked to the door of the stall.

 

“Yeah. Now will you open the stupid door?” Harry pleaded. Niall stood up and twisted the lock on the metal door, allowing the door to swing open. Harry was sitting on the ground cross legged and he looked up at Niall when the door opened. He gave the blonde a reassuring smile, then noticed that Niall had tears on his cheeks. Harry stood up and pulled Niall into a warm hug and Niall wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and rested his head in the crook of his neck. “Lets go to an early lunch, alright? I’ll take any heat from Mr. Betcher if he gets mad. Deal?” Niall silently nodded against him and Harry pulled back from the hug. The two left the office once Niall had washed his face a bit, erasing the tear streaks that stained his cheeks.

 

“You know what, let’s just go to my place. We could probably just talk a little more openly there than at a restaurant. Are you alright with that?” Harry said once they were out of the building.

 

“Yeah that’s fine, you’ve got food right?”

 

“Yeah I went shopping yesterday, no need to worry.” The boys started the short walk with Harry leading the way. The walk was silent, thoughts racing through Niall’s head and Harry knowing that he couldn’t push Niall if he wasn’t ready to talk. After about 15 minutes, they were at the apartment complex and they took the elevator up to the 3rd floor. Harry opened his apartment door and let Niall in first.

 

“Just sit down wherever you’d like in the living room, I’ll make some sandwiches.” Niall silently followed the directions. Harry quickly made some turkey sandwiches and brought them over to the couches in the living room. He joined Niall on the larger of the two and they both sat in silence for a minute, neither eating the food Harry had prepared.

 

“So Niall, are you okay? If not will you be okay?” Harry asked. Niall took a deep breath before looking up, his blue eyes meeting Harry’s green ones.

 

“I’m fine I guess. I’m just scared.”

 

“Niall, you’re in New York City of all places. The people here are very accepting. Well most people. And even the people who aren’t are never rude or cruel. Do you remember how I said I never felt liked by our co-workers? It’s because I’m gay, but I’ve also never felt disliked, per say.  I’m always invited out and they’re all nice enough, they’re just not as welcoming as they were before they found out. Ya know? But they’re rich, white, middle aged bankers. That’s not the most accepting group. Most people in New York don’t give a fuck who you are or who you’re attracted to, okay? And I’m here for you. I get what you’re going through, you can come to me whenever you need something. Anything,” Harry told the sniffling boy. “Okay, Niall?” Harry tried to get him to reply in some way. Niall nodded, then turned to the food that was placed on the coffee table. He grabbed the sandwich and began to eat it, even though his stomach was twisted still. Harry did the same and the two finished the simple meal quietly.

 

Once the food was finished, they decided to go back to the office even though they hadn't been out for all that long. The walk seemed to go by faster than the walk to Harry's place, maybe because there wasn't an awkward silence. Harry and Niall actually conversed, chit-chatting about their hometowns, discussing what they missed and what they were glad to be gone from.

 

Niall learned that Harry had lived with his mum, older sister, and his stepdad. He still talked to his sister at least every other day and they were very close. He missed the job he had at a bakery growing up. Whenever Harry walked by a bakery and the smell of fresh baked goods hit him, he became very homesick. One of the few things Harry didn’t miss is how everyone knew everything about everyone. Nothing was really secret, which made Harry being gay very difficult. He told one person that he thought he could be and by the end of the day, everyone he walked by whispered to the person next to them with their eyes glued to him.

 

Niall didn’t talk all that much, he just told Harry about his brother, his mum, his dad, and his stepdad. He mentioned that his brother Gregg was just starting to date some girl, Denise he thought, but he wasn’t too sure that was her name.

 

They got back to the giant skyscraper and took the long elevator ride to their floor. When the small box was almost to the correct floor, Harry spoke up.

 

“So tonight I’m having a few friends over, you wanna come? It’s just at my place, come over at 8 if you’d like,” Harry said warmly.

 

“Oh yeah, I’d like that,” Niall replied.

  
“Great,” Harry said as a ding sounded and the doors slid open.


	4. Chapter 4

Niall didn’t know what to do from the time he got home until he left for Harry’s. He filled the time with mindless tasks trying to make the time tick by faster, he was excited to meet new people. He really only knew Harry and Julie, and Niall had a very, very strong feeling that Julie wasn’t about to be best buddies with Niall after today. He changed a few times before deciding on a pair of black jeans and a Rolling Stones tee.

 

Finally it was time to leave and Niall just walked over to Harry’s flat, remembering the location from earlier in the day. He made it over there in only a few short minutes, thoughts of who these new people might be and what they might be like swimming in his head.

 

Niall got to the door of the building and had no idea how to open the locked door. He shot Harry a text asking how to get in and he anxiously waited for him to text back. After a few impatient moments, the door swung open and Niall saw Harry standing in the doorway. Harry was out of his work clothes as well and his hair was in wet ringlets, beads of water dripping occasionally off the ends. He had on grey baggy sweatpants and a white hoodie that had ‘Imperial College’ in blue on the chest.

 

“You went to Imperial?!” Niall asked loudly. The corner of Harry’s mouth pulled up into a small smile and he looked down at his sweatshirt.

 

“No I just wear their clothing to look cool. Of course I did, dumbass. Now come in.” Harry stepped to the side to let the blonde in. Niall slid past him shoving his shoulder lightly in the process.

 

“Don’t be a dick, I’m just impressed. Isn’t it like one of the best, if not the best school, in the UK?”

 

“It’s not the best, Oxford and Cambridge are, silly. But it’s ranked the number 6 school in the UK,” Harry informed Niall.

 

“Holy shit, are you a genius or something? Why didn’t you mention it?”

 

“Because I didn’t go there for bragging rights, I went for a great education. You had to have gone to a good uni to get our job so young,” Harry made a good point as he led the way to the stairs.

 

“I went to University College Cork, which is top 5 in Ireland. But England has better schools, so in comparison, yours in better,” Niall argued.

 

“Whatever,” Harry shrugged it off, starting the three flight climb.

 

“Why are we taking the stairs?” Niall asked.

 

“Dunno, just are.” Niall accepted this and silently bounced up the stairs until Harry led the way to his door. He let Niall in first before coming in himself then shutting the door. Niall made his way to the couches that he had cried on earlier, laughing to himself at how differently he felt now, just a few hours later. Harry’s little speech and the fact that Harry was going to introduce him to some of his friends made Niall happy and he was inching closer to being happy with his sexuality.

 

“Wait am I here early? I thought you had friends here?” Niall noticed that Harry was the only other person in the flat.

 

“Oh no, Louis and Zayn are just always late. Zayn texted me saying they’re almost here, but that means almost nothing with those two. Want a drink?” Harry called out from the kitchen.

 

“I’m fine, thanks though. What are they like?” Niall questioned. Harry walked over to join Niall on the oversized leather couch, leaning back against the arm to face Niall.

 

“Insane. Well Louis is. Zayn is very laid back, pretty quiet at first but he’s a great guy. Louis is the exact opposite. I really don’t know how they’re best mates.” Harry took a pause to sip from a beer he had grabbed from his fridge. “Louis is very loud, very flamboyant, yes they’re both gay, he’s very witty and pretty sassy.” Harry had casually answered the question on Niall’s mind and Niall was relieved that he didn’t even have to ask. Harry continued with a statement that made Niall’s stomach drop a bit. “By the way, Louis and I kinda have a thing. I don’t want you to be super taken aback if he’s all over me. He gets that way sometimes.” He sipped the alcoholic drink once again.

 

“Oh… cool. How long have you two been dating?” Niall squeaked out.

 

“Oh God, no, we’re not dating. We’re just kinda there for each other when we need it, if you get what I’m saying,” Harry didn’t want to straight up say they hooked up whenever one was horny, but Niall understood.

 

“Do you have feelings for him?” Niall didn’t want to pry, but he really wanted to know.

 

“Nah, I know he gets with people left and right. We’re good friends who happen to get together sometimes, I suppose,” Harry said before his phone went off, shifting his attention. His eyes scanned over the screen quickly then he set the device back down. “They’re here. They have a key so they should be up momentarily.” Niall just nodded, acknowledging the statement. Harry stretched his arms up above his head and his back bowed as he yawned. His sweatshirt lifted up and the lower portion of his torso was exposed. Niall tried to gulp down the lump that had formed in his throat, to no avail. Harry’s abs were perfectly toned and he had a v-line that made Niall feel like the temperature raised a few degrees. The waistline of Harry’s pants were sitting dangerously low on his hips and a few wispy hairs made a barely-there happy trail. Harry returned to a normal position and he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking the slightly-damp curls. The locks fell perfectly around his face and Niall found himself wishing that Harry didn’t gel his hair for work. He liked his natural hair so much better.

 

Harry noticed that Niall was staring at him and he gave him a little smile.

 

“Whatcha lookin’ at, Nialler?” Harry asked in a way that didn’t make Niall embarrassed for being caught looking.

 

“Nialler? Is that my new nickname? And I was just noticing that you have curls.” Niall tried to play it off as nothing.

 

“You’ve been here for like 10 minutes, you’re just now noticing?” Harry playfully teased Niall. Niall was about to say something back when he heard the doorknob jolt and the door open. His back was towards the door so he glanced over his shoulder to see what these two looked like.

 

One of the two boys had messy straight brown hair that was sloppily pushes up and to the side, like Niall’s was. This boy had on a navy shirt with white stripes and a pair of white jeans with the cuffs rolled up a bit. The other one had dark, almost black, hair with the top part fairly long and straight up and the sides cut very close. This boy had on a red and black plaid shirt buttoned all the way up and a pair of skinny grey pants. While the two were about the same height, boy with the shaggy brunette hair was a wee bit taller.

 

As soon as this boy saw Harry, he ran over to the couch and jumped up, landing right on Harry’s lap.

 

“Uuuuuugh,” Harry moaned in pain. “Dammit, Louis,” he groaned.

 

“I’m sorry, Harry. I couldn’t help it,” the boy who was apparently Louis said with a smirk, Niall noticed he had an accent similar Harry’s. Louis saw Niall for the first time and his face lit up. “Who’s this cutie?”

 

“Louis, Zayn, meet Niall, my co-worker,” Harry gestured to Niall and he waved his hand and gave a small ‘hello’, intimidated by the boys. “Niall, I know you’re not shy, don’t be scared. They’re not too bad,” Harry said with a smile and Niall just nodded. Zayn plopped down onto the chair opposite of the other three. The couch probably wasn’t meant to fit three comfortably, but with Louis still in Harry’s lap, it was fine.

 

“So, Niall,” Zayn began, “why haven’t we met ya before?”

 

“I just moved here a month ago,” NIall told him.

 

“Ahh you’re Irish! You little leprechaun, you can play with my pot o’ gold if you’d like,” Louis said with a wink making Niall’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.

 

“Louis!” Harry scolded. “I’m sorry Niall, like I said, he’s very out there.”

 

“Well he is gay, right?” Louis asked no one in particular. Niall bashfully looked down at his hands which were resting in his lap, his blush returning.

 

“Yeah, uh, yeah I am…” Niall replied. Louis jumped off of Harry’s lap and grabbed Niall’s hand, pulling him up to a standing position with Louis.

 

“Don’t be ashamed of that! It’s the best thing to be! Shout it Niall! Shout ‘I LOVE DICK AND I DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!’ I want to hear you scream it!” Louis jumped onto the couch, still holding Niall’s hand. Niall bursted out laughing, his face turning a bright shade of red and he bent at the waist, clutching his sides. He adorable giggle rang through the room, making all the other boys smile. In his fit of laughter, Niall fell onto the couch and Louis beamed proudly. He sat back down as well, sitting between Niall and Harry. "Well, I'm glad someone finally appreciates my humor." Once Niall calmed down and stopped laughing, he caught his breath before getting up from the couch.

 

“Harry I think I’m gonna take you up on that offer and grab a beer. Can I just grab any of them from the fridge?” Niall asked as he walked to the kitchen

 

“Yeah, take whatever,” Harry nonchalantly replied.

 

“Oh can you get me one too?”

 

“And me?” Louis and Zayn both asked and Niall grabbed three bottles from the refrigerator then returned to the other boys, carefully tossing the glass bottles which were both caught perfectly.

 

“Watch out!” Harry shouted out, worried about the glass falling and shattering.

 

“Oops, sorry,” Niall apologized before plopping back onto his spot on the couch.

 

“So, Harry,” Louis said while scooching back to Harry as he took a swig of beer, “when are you going to have another party here? It was so fun last time but it was so long ago.”

 

“I’m not having another party, so many things broke. Plus I didn’t even know half the people in my place,” Harry reasoned.

 

“You’re such a killjoy, that’s the whole fun,” Louis scoffed.

 

“You could have one at my place if you’d like. It’s the same size as this place and I just moved so I really don’t have anything with sentimental value in my flat.”

 

Louis pumped his fist in the air and gave a loud ‘YES!’. “You’re my new favorite, Niall. Here give me your phone so I can put my number in. It’ll be great, I’ll take care of everything. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to throw a party. You can meet a bunch of new people too, since you’re new and all.”

 

“Sounds good,” Niall said while handing Louis his clunky cell phone and the energetic boy punched in the digits before handing it bank. Niall felt comfortable around these two new people, he even considered them friends already. Even though Zayn stayed quiet for most of the night, just sitting back and only making comments every so often, Nial still enjoyed his presence.

 

The night sped by nearly uneventfully, _nearly_. As a few more beers were downed, Louis opened up more and more, if that was possible. They all went from laughing together to Louis’ tongue down Harry’s throat. As soon as Louis started to kiss Harry, Niall knew he had to get out of there. With three beers in his system he was not the most rational person and he didn’t want to do anything he’d regret.

 

“Alright, lads, I’m gonna go home,” Niall spoke to the whole room. Zayn looked up from his phone and gave a small wave accompanied by a smile and Louis and Harry stopped sucking face to look at Niall.

 

“Oh, leaving so soon?” Louis asked, still cupping Harry’s cheeks and straddling his lap.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got work in a few hours and I’m normally asleep by now.”

 

“Okay, well I’ll text you about the party, yeah?” Niall nodded in reply.

 

“See ya tomorrow, Niall,” Harry said as Louis’ lips began to roam along Harry’s neck. Niall turned and headed out the door quickly.

  
“See you guys around,” he said quickly before practically sprinting out the door, running home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'd really appreciate some feedback! This is my first time doing something like this so if there's anything you think should be changed let me know!  
> Thanks guys :)


	5. Chapter 5

The next days went by as they normally would, the only exception being that Julie hadn’t spoken to Niall since Monday. Louis had been texting with Niall fairly often to plan the party, even though Niall had given Louis free range to do whatever within reason. Niall was both excited and concerned about the party, he could meet new people but on the same note, strangers would fill his home.

On Friday, work came and went and by 5:30 PM Harry and Niall were packing up and walking out the door.

“So what time is Louis’ party thing at?” Harry asked once the elevator dropped them off on the ground floor.

“I have no idea actually, I’ll just let people in when they show up. So just come over whenever you’d like,” Niall told Harry.

“Alright, mind if I come over early then? I’d just have to go home and change then I can come over, but if that’s too early that’s fine.”

“No, no, that’s perfectly fine, come over as early as you’d like,” Niall’s stomach fluttered at the thought of one on one time with Harry, but he ignored it, telling himself that he was probably just hungry.

“Great, see you soon then,” Harry said as he turned to opposite direction that Niall was going, waving goodbye. Niall just started the walk home and he was through the door in minutes. He didn’t have to do anything because Louis was bringing all the alcohol and that’s all that was really needed for a party for a bunch of 20-something year olds.

Once home, Niall shrugged off his blazer and stripped his tie, shirt, shoes, and pants. He rummaged through the dresser drawers for a few minutes before finally finding a pair of faded blue skinny jeans. He was about to find a shirt to wear that the party when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His hair was way too perfect for his liking. He never really liked the way his hair was at work, but he knew he had to be professional so he gelled it a little bit, just enough so it didn’t go every which way. Niall went to the bathroom and stuck his head under running water from the sink to try to clean the gel off. He quickly dried his hair with a towel then ran his fingers through his hair so it was perfectly messy. His chest and back had become the slightest but damp, but right as he reached for the towel once more, there was a heavy knock on the door.

“Fuck he got here fast,” Niall cursed to himself. He quickly jogged to the door, not wanting to keep Harry waiting. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, revealing Harry looking as attractive as ever. He had an American football jersey on that was tight against him, showing off his muscular chest and broad shoulders. He had a pair of black jeans on and brown leather boots covered his feet. His hair was sloppily pushed to the right but it still looked perfect in Niall’s opinion. He had on a broad smile, showing off the dimples that indented both of this cheeks.

When Harry noticed Niall’s lack of a shirt, his eyes scanned up and down Niall’s exposed and damp skin slowly, taking in every inch. He involuntarily licked his lips at the sight, which made him blush the smallest amount when he realized what he had done.

“Well, come in, I was just getting changed as you can see,” Niall said as he stepped aside to allow Harry to come in. “Just sit down wherever, I just have to grab a shirt, one second.” Niall dismissed himself then slipped back to his room. He tried to be quick but he also wanted to find a shirt that would look great and that took a lot of looking through drawers. He finally decided on a tank top with a black and white American flag on the front. He pulled it over his head as he walked back towards the living room, not getting it completely on until after he was in Harry’s sights. The tanktop was over Niall's face when he walked into the room so he missed Harry rake his eyes up and down Niall's toned chest once more. Niall joined Harry on the couch and they just flipped on the television and watched tv until Louis arrived with the alcohol and the first guests.

  
By midnight, the party was in full swing. People crowded the large apartment and the strong scent of liquor saturated the air. Niall was sitting on his plush couch getting to know some random people, their names were possibly Jessica and Nick, but Niall’s mind was hazy from the shots he had taken earlier and he couldn’t be positive about their names. The quirky girl with long, wavy dark brown hair and large glasses sat in the lap of what was presumably her boyfriend, who was sporting a basic worn out t-shirt and jeans. The two told Niall about things he “absolutely must must must do” in the city. So far they had just listed off several small diners that were apparently phenomenal.

Suddenly, Niall felt a shift in the couch cushion and he heard the muted sound of someone flopping onto it. He glanced over and he saw Zayn for the first time since all night. He was accompanied by another boy who was about equally as attractive as Zayn. He had light brown hair that had a fairly similar style to Zayn’s, short on the sides, longer and up on top. He had light chocolatey brown eyes and a heart melting smile. Niall noticed that the two boys’ fingers were intertwined and the other boy’s legs were on top of Zayn’s.

“Vas happenin’, Niall?” Zayn said. Niall lifted an eyebrow at the expression.

“‘Vas happenin’?” He questioned.

“Ignore it, he says it all the time. He thinks it’s his catchphrase or something,” the new boy said. Niall just gave a small ‘hmm’, allowing Zayn to speak.

“Oh yeah, by the way, this is my boyfriend, Liam. Liam, this is Niall.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Liam said, sticking out the hand that wasn’t holding Zayn’s to shake Niall’s hand. Niall shook it then turned back to the couple that he had been speaking to earlier, feeling a bit rude for ditching their conversation momentarily to speak to Zayn and Liam. However, he found the two in their own world, blocked off from the rest of the room by a curtain of the girl’s long curls. He didn’t want to disturb their moment, so once again his gaze went to the boys.

“So anyway, Louis told me to tell you he wants to talk with you, he’s in your kitchen,” Zayn told Niall.

“Oh, alright, thanks. See ya around, then.” Niall got up and walked to the kitchen and quickly spotted Louis taking a shot. He walked up next to him before saying anything. “Hey, Louis.” Louis spin around and smiled widely when the saw the little Irishman.

“Hey, Niall. Awesome party you’ve got here, whoever threw it must be preeettyyy awesome,” Louis said, dragging out the vowels.

“Nah not really, he’s pretty fuckin’ weird,” Niall said with a slight smirk. Louis shoved his arm and muttered a small ‘shut up’ through a giggle.

“So I wanna talk with you, can we go somewhere a little more quiet?” Louis asked Niall, leaning in towards his ear, warm breath sending goosebumps down Niall’s arm as it hit the sensitive skin of his neck.

“Uh, yeah, sure but I think there are people in every room, so I don’t know where it’ll be quiet.”

“We’ll go to your room, if anyone’s in there just say it’s your place and tell them to get out.” Niall agreed and the two boys made the small trip to the bedroom, opening the door only to find a guy on all fours over some random girl, her shirt and bra littered the floor and the man's lips were attached to one of her breasts while he palmed the other. "This is his house, get out," Louis commanded, not phased at all by the sight. The two muttered curse words under their breath but eventually got dressed and left the room. All of the lights in the room were off, but light streamed in from the streetlamps just outside of the window, illuminating both of the boys' faces.

"So what did you want to talk ab-" Niall's question was cut off by Louis pressing his lips against Niall's, too fast for Niall to realize what was happening. Niall didn't think about what he was doing, he just let his instinct take over the moment. One hand tangled itself in Louis' soft hair while the other became situated in the space between the brunettes shoulderblades. Louis placed his hands on the slightly shorter boy's back, pulling him closer so their chests were pressed against each other.

Louis stepped forward, making Niall stumble backwards. The backs of his knees hit his bed, so he just fell backwards onto it, pulling Louis down with him. The two landed softly onto the fluffy mattress, never breaking the kiss. Louis moved his hands to cup Niall's cheeks. After a few more moments, the two pulled back to take a deep breath, still so close all they could see was each other's eyes, the pigment of their irises nearly identical to one another's.

"What about Harry?" Niall whispered after several seconds ticked by.

"What about him?" Louis asked, confusion tinting his voice.

"I... I thought you two were a thing?" Niall said softly.

"What? No. He's nothing more than a small fling, plus he's beginning to bore me," Louis nonchalantly explained.

"Oh, uh, alright. It's just... It's just that was my, uh my..." Niall's stomach twisted with nerves as he tried to explain himself. Louis' eyes widened as he jumped to a conclusion.

"Was that your first kiss?" He asked.

"Well no, I mean kinda. It was the first time I've kissed a guy. Not a lot of gay guys back in Mullingar."

"Oh, well that's okay, we'll just take it slow then," Louis muttered with a smirk, leaning down to resume kissing Niall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this wasn't super long but it's kinda sorta a filler/connecting chapter. The real good stuff should be in a few chaptera


	6. Chapter 6

Niall entered work Monday quite looking forward to the day. He and Louis were going out to lunch in just a few hours. He really had no idea what they were but it was fun Friday and maybe this lunch would answer his question. Niall just pondered what the day would bring when a voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Harry asked, bringing his focus back.

 

“Oh, nothing, really. How was your weekend?” Niall dodged the question, not sure how Harry would act if he told him that Louis was taking him to lunch.

 

“It was fine, most of Saturday was spent hungover, though. Quite the party you through there, huh?”

 

“Oh that wasn’t my doing and you know it, Louis knows how to throw a party. So you had fun then?” Niall asked.

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Good, I’m glad,” and with that the duo got to work. After a few hours filled with meetings and conference calls, it was lunch. Niall considered slipping away without telling Harry where he was going because he and Louis had been a ‘thing’ so recently. However, Harry spoke up before Niall made up his mind on the matter.

 

“So where would you like to go for lunch?” He asked with a wide smile as he ran his fingers through his hair, forgetting that it was gelled.

 

“Oh, I’m actually going to lunch with Louis. We’re meeting up at that little sandwich shop down the street. He just texted me that he’s a few minutes away.” Harry’s smile dropped as soon as he heard Louis’ name. His eyebrows knit together momentarily and he bit his lip. He looked Niall in the eyes, remaining silent as they stood in the hallway facing each other. “I-is that okay?” Niall asked, feeling terribly guilty all of the sudden.

 

“Just don’t get attached to him, yeah?” Harry said with a flat voice. Niall just nodded and turned to head towards the elevators, but he suddenly felt a large hand grip his bicep. He turned around and when he saw Harry’s eyes, he was taken aback at how dark his eyes were, a stark contrast to the typical bright green. “Promise me you won’t get attached to him.”

 

“I promise…” Niall whispered, ducking his head so he couldn’t see Harry’s eyes. Harry let go of his arm and the two wordlessly took the long elevator ride down to the ground floor and they headed towards the exit.

 

“I’m gonna get a sandwich from the same place you’re going, but I won’t eat there. I’ll be out of your way soon enough.” Harry scoffed as they started the one block walk to the sub shop. Niall’s stomach twisted as he felt more and more guilt about this. Did Harry actually have feelings for Louis? Niall heard Harry say clear as day that he didn’t, but maybe he lied. Why was Harry being so cold about lunch? Having lunch didn’t really mean anything, it wasn’t a big deal, right? The two walked into the store, a bell chiming once the door opened, and they both saw Louis seated at a small table in the back. He had on light blue scrubs and messy hair and he had an untouched sub on the table in front of him. He lifted his eyebrow, probably wondering what Harry was doing there. “Go get your sandwich, I need to talk to Louis, alone,” Harry commanded. Niall did as he was told, not wanting to make Harry anymore upset than he already was. Niall watched Harry the entire time he was ordering his sandwich. Harry was standing right above Louis and it looked like he was yelling at him, although in the large shop, only muted voices could be heard. Niall saw several hand gestures in his direction, confirming that they were discussing the blonde.

 

He paid for his food and cautiously made his way to the table, the words being exchanged by the other two gradually became louder and louder.

 

“You never gave a shit about who I hooked up with before, why do you care now?” Louis said angrily, yet he still tried to keep his voice down to not disturb the other people enjoying their lunch.

 

“This is different. _He_ is different. _He_ is pure, _you_ are not. If you hurt him I swear to god I will-”

 

“Um, what are you guys talking about?” Niall interrupted, making his presence known. Harry whirled around and Louis flicked his eyes over and both of their gaze softened when they realized it was Niall.

 

“Nothing, I was just leaving, have fun,” Harry said before storming off, not bothering to get lunch at the shop. Niall awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other before taking the seat across from Louis and unwrapping his sandwich.

 

“Well, that was… interesting,” Louis said, breaking the silent tension.

 

“You could say that. Is Harry mad at me?” Niall warily asked, the guilty pit in his stomach still there.

 

“No, why would he be?”

 

“Well you two used to be a ‘thing’, fairly recently even, and he’s my only friend here and I don’t want him to be mad if you and me are… whatever this is.”

 

“Niall, several things, a. I’m your friend, as well, b. Harry is not mad at you, c. Harry never has and never will have feelings for me. Honestly, I’m about lots of fun and little commitment and Harry saw that. We’re not very similar even though we are great mates. He’s just looking out for you I guess, he’s convinced I’m a bad guy I think.” Louis took a breath when he finished and bit into his sandwich for the first time, and Niall mimicked his action, processing what Louis had said. They both ate the first halves of their sandwiches without talking again, the chatter of the other people in the shop filled their ears.

 

“So what’re the scrubs for? Do you work in a hospital?” Niall spoke up once he swallowed his food.

 

“Yeah, I work at the Lower Manhattan hospital. I’m a resident now, it’s a lot of work, but I love it,” Louis explained.

 

“Oh, that’s really cool!” Niall said, glad that they were actually talking. The two just talked about the basics of their lives, family, schooling, jobs, until Niall realized that he had to start heading back because his lunch hour was nearly over. Louis offered to walk him to the office but Niall knew that the hospital he worked at was the opposite direction, so he declined, not wanting to make Louis late. “So, what are we? Like what happens now?” Niall finally forced himself to ask the question that had been on his mind since Saturday morning.

 

“Well, like I said, I don’t like commitment. But I’m not sure how you feel about that, so just think about it and let me know if you want to be something, okay?” Louis asked. Niall nodded, receiving a half smile from Louis before he turned the direction of the hospital.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is short too! I just broke up a long unfinished chapter so that I could update for you guys. Let me know what you think so far in the comments, thanks xx


	7. Chapter 7

After the short walk back to his office, again taking the long elevator ride to the 82nd floor, Niall quickly walked to his desk and he found Harry with his head in his hands, tapping his foot against the ground.

 

“Hey, what did you end up doing for lunch?” Niall asked, not knowing what else to say. Harry spun around in his chair, wide eyed.

 

“Hi, uh I didn’t eat actually. Listen, Niall I’m really sorry, I was being a dick earlier and I shouldn’t have said anything to him and it’s none of my business. Sorry again, I’ll stay out of it from now on,” Harry said.

 

“It’s fine, Harry, it’s not a big deal. I don’t think anything will arise from it anyway,” Niall casually added. A smile flashed across Harry’s face, disappearing just as quickly as it came.

 

“Why do you say that?” He questioned cautiously.

 

“I don’t know, I’m not really looking for the same thing he is. I don’t want the first thing I truly experience to be just a fling with someone who I mean so little to, ya know?” Harry gave a half smile at Niall’s statement and nodded before turning back to his desk to get back to work. Niall took a seat and followed Harry’s action, beginning to type up an email on the slow, clunky computer.

  
  


After the same old same old for a few days, Niall found himself lounging on his couch, practically inhaling a pizza that had just arrived. A Saturday Night Live rerun was on and Niall was enjoying this stress-free alone time. While he enjoyed his work, it could be incredibly stressful.

 

His phone buzzed loudly on the coffee table, alerting Niall of a new text message. He grabbed the device from the wooden table and pressed the OKAY button to read it.

 

Harry Styles: Hey do you wanna come over? I just got a new movie from Blockbusters

 

Niall practically sprinted to get his shoes on, not bothered by the fact that he only had pajama bottoms and an old t shirt on. He finished the last bite of pizza, flipped off the tv, and slipped on a pullover before snatching his keys. He walked to Harry’s flat, taking a wrong turn once, but he was at the building fairly quickly. He raised his hand to ring the buzzer that corresponded to Harry’s apartment but before he could, the door opened, revealing a smiling Harry, who was for some reason still in his work clothes.

 

“Hey, glad you could make it,” Harry said. They both traveled up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

 

“Yeah, thanks for inviting me over,” Niall replied. The two got to Harry’s apartment and went right in, headed towards the couches to start the movie. “So what movie did you get?” Niall asked.

 

“I got Silence of the Lambs and the sequel Hannibal, since it just came on DVD. Did you see it in theaters?”

 

“No, I’ve heard of them here and there, what are they about?”

 

“They’re suspense crime serial killer things. Are you alright with that?” Niall’s stomach dropped the slightest bit when he heard it was a scary movie.

 

“Uh, yeah that should be okay. I just don’t watch horror films much though,” Niall explained.

 

“I don’t think it’s so much a horror as a thriller, so it may just be suspenseful. Anyway, there’s no need to be scared when you’ve got a big strong guy like me with you,” Harry joked. Niall laughed and agreed that the movie would be fine. He sat on the couch that faced the tv while Harry put the first movie in the DVD player. The brunette joined Niall on the couch, sitting so their was a large gap between them.

 

Throughout the movie, the boys scooted closer to one another, hardly even noticing their actions. By the final scenes, the two were side by side, Niall cowering with fear at the scene before their eyes. His heart was pounding with anticipation as the main character was stalked by a serial killer, equipped with nothing but a small gun in a pitch black room. Niall reached his hand up and grabbed onto Harry’s bicep, squeezing it for dear life. There was a loud noise and Niall buried his face in Harry’s shoulder, shielding himself from the picture on the screen. Harry chuckled softly and began to rub his large hand up and down Niall’s back to comfort him.

 

“Ya know, if I didn’t know any better I’d think I was watching this with a 12 year old girl,” Harry whispered.

 

“Shut up and tell me when the scene’s over,” Niall mumbled into the larger boy’s arm. Harry just continued to rub the blonde’s back through the fabric of his shirt, soothing his heightened nerves. Harry let Niall know once the scary part was over and Niall watched the ending, which set up the sequel. Harry got up and turned off the movie and asked Niall if he wanted to watch the next movie.

 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to watch it, we could watch the telly or if you’re tired you could go home.”

 

“Hmm… It was a pretty good movie, and in hindsight it wasn't all that scary, just suspenseful. Let’s watch the second one,” Niall said. ‘That’ll be a good excuse to cuddle up to him,’ he thought. He quickly pushed aside the thought saying that Harry could only be a friend. Niall didn’t want to mess up the one friendship he had in this country. He had probably ruined a chance of friendship with Louis and Julie wasn’t about to be friends with Niall. He had kissed both of them and ruined any friendship that had been there, and he would be crushed if that happened with Harry. Harry started Hannibal then rejoined Niall on the couch, sitting right next to him so their skin rubbed against each other. Harry placed his arms on the back of the couch, dangerously close to wrapping his arm around Niall’s shoulders.

 

The movie started and Niall was scared right off the bat. Throughout the movie, whenever Niall was especially frightened, Harry would rub his shoulder or bicep, successfully soothing him. Around 11:30, the movie was coming to a close and Niall was practically in Harry’s lap. His knees were tucked up to his chest and he had his face buried in Harry’s chest half of the time. Harry didn’t seem to mind, but rather he shifted himself slightly closer to Niall. The move was so subtle that Niall couldn’t be positive it happened, but he was pretty sure.

 

After the movie, Niall decided he should go home, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He reluctantly got up from next to Harry and put his shoes back on before heading for the door. Harry got up and walked to the entrance with him.

 

“Thanks for coming over, I had a good time,” Harry said. Niall was now in the hall and Harry stood in his doorway.

 

“Yeah, I did, too. Thanks for having me, again. I’ll see you tomorrow at work, yeah?” Niall said.

 

“Yeah.” There was a moment silence before Harry opened up his arms to offer Niall a hug. Niall quickly leaned in and wrapped his arms around Harry’s torso. Harry mimicked his actions and the two embraced for several heartbeats before slowly pulling away.

 

As they pulled away from each other, they glanced in each other’s eyes. Harry quickly moved forward again and placed his hand on the back of Niall’s head and pulled the blonde closer to him. Harry pressed his soft lips against Niall’s chapped ones only for a second before pulling back quickly, wide eyed. The two stared at each other in shock, but all of the sudden, the door was slammed in Niall’s face.

 

Niall stood staring at the door for an unknown amount of time, it could have been seconds or minutes until it fully hit him.

  
“FUCK!” He shouted as he punched the wall next to Harry’s door. Harry had immediately shut the door in Niall’s face after the kiss, and in Niall’s mind, that meant he regretted it. Niall started to freak out on his walk home, breath shaky as he thought of the possibility that his friendship with Harry was now ruined. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo NARRY!!! Also Harry Pottery killed me oh god I died many times over
> 
> So let me know what you think! Kudos/Comment :) Thanks, love you all!


	8. Chapter 8

The next day was one of the hottest of the summer. The office building was a sauna. Air conditioners roared, but they couldn’t take all of the heat away. The people fanned themselves with papers and reports. Men loosened their ties and took off their blazers to try to get some relief from the scorching heat.

For Niall, the heat was elevated by his nerves. His insides felt hot because of how worried he was. He probably would have been sweaty and gross even without the temperatures reaching the triple digits. But maybe this was just an excuse for being sweaty, a way for him to dodge any questions about what was wrong.

The entire first half of the day was spent with the boys ignoring each other. Or more, Niall avoiding Harry and replying to anything he said with as little words as possible. He wasn’t trying to be rude or awkward, he just didn’t know what to say and he panicked whenever Harry spoke.

He liked Harry, he really did and as much as he tried to deny it, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t deny that flutter he felt in his stomach every time he saw Harry laugh and the extra pep in his step that developed when Harry called him over from across the room to talk to him.

But despite this, Niall had convinced himself that there was no way that Harry felt similarly. Even with the kiss, Niall couldn’t believe it. Harry was this near perfect being in Niall’s eyes. He was a ray of light through the most boring, paperwork filled days. His laugh made Niall laugh, his stupid knock knock jokes could always bring a smile to his face. His gelled back curls were almost a constant thought on Niall’s mind. He always to run his fingers through the product, wear it out and reveal those gorgeous curls that perfectly framed his face. Niall spent more time than he’d like to admit day dreaming about laying in bed with Harry and twisting those curls around his fingers, fill the air with talk of sweet nothings and cuddle, kiss a little, and maybe even a little more. But anyway, Harry was so great, and Niall was just… well in his mind he was just Niall. A boring boy from a small town in Ireland.

Harry had tried to spark a conversation several times throughout the day, but Niall couldn’t handle it. He interpreted everything the wrong way, every question about clients was just Harry trying to be nice, not genuinely wanting to talk to Niall.

By the end of the day, Harry was so frustrated with Niall that he had almost given up hope. Almost.

When Niall was on his way out, Harry ran to catch up with him. Niall noticed and quickly got on the elevator with their co worker, Jim, knowing they couldn't talk about it if someone else was around. Harry groaned to himself but didn't let that deter him.

"You. Get out. I need to talk to him privately." Harry sternly told Jim and he obliged after a loud and obvious sigh. Harry got on the elevator and pressed the button to close te door, trapping the two boys on the almost 5 minute long elevator ride. "Niall I'm sorry. I really am. But please, you've made it obvious that you don't like me back, can you please stop being such a dick to me? I won't try anything again, just please can we still be friends. I'm sorry I messed things up but I guess I thought you liked me back. I don't know, I suppose I took it the wrong way, but I'm begging you, please stop acting this way. It's killing me to have you be so cold to me."

"Wait, you like me?" Was all Niall could say to Harry's little rant.

"What?" Harry was a bit pissed that Niall only had that to say. "Of course I do, why else would I have kissed you? Niall how oblivious are you?"

"Well... You slammed the door in my face right after, so I thought it was a mistake or something."

"Yeah I was about to open the door and apologize when you cussed so loud my whole building probably heard you and punched the wall. You made it pretty clear you don't feel similarly, so can we just go back to the way it was before? Or try to?"

"What are you talking about, of course I like you. I'm just shit at all of this and I've been freaking out and I didn't want to ruin our friendship. So far kissing someone here has ruined any shot of friendship and I didn't want it to be the same way with you." Harry's dimples surfaced as a smile spread across his face.

"You do?"

“Yeah, how could I not?” Niall replied.

“Oh, well then. Would you, uh, would you like to go to dinner tonight then? Like a date?” Harry offered. Niall bashfully blushed and said he would love that as the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened. “Okay, I’ll pick you up then, since you don’t have a car.”

“What should I wear?” Niall asked, excitement obvious in his voice.

“Don’t be such a girl,” Harry teased. “But actually, I dunno, maybe jeans a nice shirt? It doesn’t really matter.”

“Okay, what time should I be ready by?” Niall asked as they stepped out of the air conditioned bliss.

“Hmm… 6? Is that enough time? That’s only like half an hour but…” Harry trailed off.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Niall told him. Harry said bye with a shy smile and the two parted ways for a little.

  
Niall got home and sprinted to the shower, he was sweaty and gross from the day and he had nearly run home as soon as he was out of Harry’s sight. He peeled off his clothes and hopped in, hot water streaming down his body and rinsing away the grime of the day. He washed his hair and body faster than he thought possible and shaved his late afternoon stubble as fast as he could without cutting himself. He towel dried his hair and rubbed some wax between his hands before running his fingers through his hair to style it up and to the side.

He checked the clock on the wall and he had 7 minutes until 6:00 so he ran to his room and rifled through his clothes to find something to wear. He finally decided on a pair of dark blue jeans and a plaid button down shirt. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and quickly slid his feet into his favorite pair of sneakers.

A knock sounded from his door and he sprinted to it, excitement coursing through his veins. He pulled the door open and the boy that was before his eyes took his breath away. Harry’s hair was in completely ungelled curls that swooshed to the side playfully. He looked a lot younger with his messy curls loosely hanging, but Niall liked it. Harry wore a navy blue shirt with white hearts, buttoned all the way up to his neck with the sleeves completely down and black jeans.

“I like your shirt, it’s…unique,” Niall commented. Harry gave a small laugh and looked down at his shirt.

“Yeah, s’different,” Harry noted. “Well, you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Niall smiled as he said it. The two chitchatted as they took the elevator to Harry’s car. “So where are we going?” Niall asked once they got into the car and strapped the seat belts around their bodies.

“It’s a surprise, you’re not one of those people who hates surprises, right?” Harry asked.

“Uh actually I kinda am, I like knowing what’s gonna happen and when.”

“Well you gotta loosen up, live a little. So it’ll remain a surprise,” Harry said. Niall silently agreed to it and they changed the topic, Harry now telling Niall a story about him and his sister from when they were little. They pulled up to one of the many tall buildings that filled the city and Harry got out and practically sprinted to the passenger side door to open it for Niall.

“Wow, what a gentleman you are,” Niall commented with a smirk.

“Only the best for you,” Harry half-jokingly replied. Niall bashfully smiled and Harry placed his hand on Niall’s back to lead him inside.

“So why were you so set on keeping this a surprise, it’s just an italian restaurant, a very nice italian restaurant but nonetheless.”

“Oh we’re not eating here, well we kinda are. Just follow me, okay?” Harry said, just confusing Niall. Harry kept his hand on Niall’s back and led him to the elevators at the back of the building. The elevator came in and Harry swiped a key card and pressed the top button before the doors closed. The elevator started going up and Niall raised an eyebrow at Harry but the brunette just smirked back. As the elevator doors began to open, Harry leapt in front of Niall. “Shit, I don’t want you to see yet. Let me cover your eyes.” Harry stood behind Niall and covered the blonde’s eyes with his hands. Niall started to walk forward with Harry guiding him, and after a few seconds of walking, Harry removed his hands and the sight took Niall’s breath away.

They were on the roof of the building and lights were strung from posts all across the roof, the little orbs of light draped beautifully across the area. In the middle of the rooftop was a table with two seats set up and a candle in the center. Niall spun around and looked at Harry with wide eyes and the taller boy was just smiling back.

“Do you like it? Here, let’s sit down before you reply,” Harry led Niall to the table and pulled his seat out for him. Niall just stared at Harry speechless for a few moment and Harry just giggled to himself, proud for blowing away Niall this much.

“How… on earth did you organize this in half an hour?!” Niall nearly shouted.

“The owner of the place is a family friend and they always keep this set up for people and tonight they wasn’t any reservations for it. Not many people know about it. It’s a shame so many people are missing out on this view though,” Harry commented as his gaze swept across the skyline. Niall looked out as well and was taken aback by it. This building was no where near as tall as some buildings in New York, but it was the tallest in this neighborhood, allowing the boys to see all the skyscrapers in the distance. It was also right next to the Hudson river and the Statue of Liberty was visible, her torch twinkling in the night sky, reflecting against the rippling water. Even though the sun had set already, the city was still light up, staying true to it’s nickname, The City That Never Sleeps.

“So you like it?” Harry asked for reassurance.

“Harry, you could have taken me to McDonalds and I would have been happy. But yes, this is incredible. Thank you,” Niall said.

“Of course, now here comes the waiter, do you know what you’d like to drink?” Harry asked. The two ordered their drinks and began talking, thankfully the conversation wasn’t awkward in the least. Niall thought about how he refused to talk to Harry all day yet here they were together on this beautifully set up rooftop. “What’s so funny?” Harry asked, noticing that Niall was laughing to himself.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how I was practically running from you whenever you tried to talk to me this morning and here we are on a date.”

“S’cause you can’t resist me,” Harry said with a wink. Niall just rolled his eyes as their drinks arrived. They ordered their dinner and continued to talk, joking around here and there.

“So why did you do all this, I mean it’s so sweet and I appreciate it, but you don’t need to put so much effort into me,” Niall said.

“Well you said it yourself, you don’t want your first real thing to be with someone who you don’t mean very much to so I wanted to show you that you mean a lot to me and that I do care for you very much, even if I’ve only know you, what, a month and a half?” Niall felt a heat raise in his cheeks and he hoped that it was dim enough for Harry to not see his blush, but he was pretty sure that Harry noticed, based off how he reached across the table and grabbed the blonde's hand, giving it a small squeeze.

Dinner came and the two ate in the warm summer night and by the time the meal was finished, the boys were stuffed. The waiter came by and asked if they had saved any room for dessert and Niall groaned at the thought of eating more.

"I'll take that as a no, thank you though. Check please?" Harry said to the man. He quickly returned to the table with the check. Niall reached for it but Harry snatched it before the blonde even got close.

"C'mon, let me pay. You set it all up, I wanna pay. Please, Haz?" Niall pleaded.

"Using cute nicknames is not gonna work this time. I'm paying," Harry replied as he pulled out his credit card.

"Fine, I'll get the next one then," Niall said. Harry noticed Niall mention another date, which made him look up from the check and smile at him.

Once the check was paid, the two took the elevator back down and walked to Harry's car. Harry made sure to open both the resturaunt and car door for Niall. Niall rolled his eyes but really he loved the cute gestures. They made the drive back to Niall's apartment and Niall got out of the car before Harry could open his door, earning a pout from him.

"I was gonna do that," Harry whined.

"Well you gotta be quick then, eh?" Niall replied. "Are you walking me to my door?"

"Of course I am," Harry replied as if it would be odd if he didn't. Niall smiled and they took the stairs up to Niall's floor. Once they got to Niall's door, the couple turned to face each other.

"Well thank you for tonight, I had a great time, even if you treated me like such a girl," Niall said.

"You are such a girl," Harry teased.

"Fuck off," Niall said trough a chuckle.

"Fine," Harry pouted and he turned to leave.

"Wait no," Niall grabbed his hand and pulled him back. Harry spun back around and Niall took a step forward and kissed Harry quickly. Niall pulled back slightly in an attempt to break the kiss, but Harry just leaned forward to keep it going. After a few seconds, the kiss broke and Harry just smiled at Niall.

"Can that be our first kiss?" He asked.

"Instead of the time you slammed the door in my face?" Niall questioned.

"I still feel really bad about that..." Harry said.

"It's okay, we ended up here despite that," Niall reasoned.

"Yeah, we did. So do you really not like me opening doors for you and stuff. I mean if you feel like I'm treating you like a girl, I'll stop."

"No, no, it's cute, I was just giving you a hard time. I do like it."

"Good. Well I should head back home, we still have work tomorrow morning. Good night." Harry stole a quick kiss before turning to leave, waving goodbye right before he stepped into the stairwell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay finally real Narry! Okay let me know what you think! xx


End file.
